The American public loves national parks, even as some destinations are becoming snarled in traffic and hikers pack places such as Zion’s Emerald Pools and River Walk and Arches’ Devil’s Garden.
After growing by 20 percent over the past decade, park visitation continues to surge to record numbers. Yet elected leaders have failed to increase spending for the 413-site system at a comparable pace, putting the National Park Service (NPS) in a bind. Does the agency continue to put off long-neglected maintenance or instead impose onerous entrance fees on those who visit?
Either option could undermine the National Park Service’s core twofold mission of preserving “unimpaired” the parks’ treasured natural and cultural resources and of making the parks accessible, according to Robert Keiter, a University of Utah law professor who directs the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment.